Catch Me If You Can → George Weasley

Thirty-One

As everyone exited the Shrieking Shack, Apollo could not shake the feeling of dread building up inside his chest. He had told himself he would stay far away from the mess that followed Harry Potter anywhere he went, and now he was stuck dead in the middle of it. Sirius and Harry were having a side conversation, one Apollo did not care to listen to despite the silence.

Soon, all of them were out. Despite being relieved, as Apollo was sure the others were, he was tense. It was the full moon. Even if it was cloudy out... well, something could go wrong any second. And, inevitably, it would.

It was only in just a moment, but the clouds shifted, thus revealing the moon. That was when everything went wrong - again. As if Snape's interference was not bad enough.

Remus went rigid. It took less than a second for Apollo to mentally connect the dots as Lupin began to shake. He knew what was happening before the transformation even begun.

"Shit," Apollo cursed under his breath, saying what he was sure Sirius was also thinking. "He didn't take his potion, you all need to get out of here," he said louder, for everyone to hear (namely the third years, because as much as he disliked them, he did not want their deaths pinned on himself, Remus or Sirius.)

"You need to run," Sirius said in a whisper, to anyone who would hear. Harry went towards Ron, who was still chained to Lupin and Pettigrew, but Sirius stopped him. "Leave it to me, just run!"

Yet, like an idiot, Harry did not, in fact, run. Apollo let out a wolf-like growl as none of the children left. Their sense of self-preservation had to be worked on. Remus was transforming - it had to be as painful as it looked. That was not the only thing Apollo had to worry about. Pettigrew was going to Lupin's dropped wand. Apollo was not going to let him get it.

Without second thought, before Harry could utter the only spell he knew, Apollo had transformed into his animagus form and lunged towards Pettigrew, teeth bared dangerously. Pettigrew squeaked, and quickly transformed into his animagus form himself, avoiding Apollo at the last possible second. Apollo did not have time to chase him down as Remus was in the final stages of his transformation.

Sirius transformed as well, jumping headfirst into a dangerous situation, pulling Remus away from Ron as the bindings snapped. The two fought. Apollo tensed up, sure he would need to intervene. When he smelled blood, he knew it was time.

Apollo jumped forward, pushing Sirius out of the way. Harry yelled at Sirius about Pettigrew's disappearance, and despite his bloody and injured state, Sirius took one glance at Apollo and rushed to track down Pettigrew. He could not let him escape again. And Apollo could not let any lives get ruined.

Apollo growled at the werewolf in front of him, as though daring him to attack. In Remus' deranged state, with his clouded vision, he did, claws swiping right towards Apollo's face. He had no time to dodge the attack, but he did have the chance to strike back. So he did, his own claws striking his opponent. The fighting only went on for two minutes at most, both parties sustaining unpleasant but mild injuries at the hands - or paws - of the other. Eventually, Apollo managed to drive Remus into the forest, the man disappearing into the tree line.